Constant de Rebecque is an old

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

which originated in

Aire Aire may refer to: Music * ''Aire'' (Yuri album), 1987 * ''Aire'' (Pablo Ruiz album), 1997 *''Aire (Versión Día)'', an album by Jesse & Joy Places *Aire-sur-la-Lys, a town in the Pas-de-Calais département in France * Aire-la-Ville, a munici ...

, in the French region of

Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht''), ...

. It takes its name from Rebecques in Artois, which the family received as a barony in 1213. After having converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and sided with

Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

as high ranking officers during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...

, most of the family fled France for Switzerland. Family tradition dictated, however, that many members of the house were officers in the French Royal Lifeguard, the Cent Suisses, with the last one to do so being

Jean Victor de Constant Rebecque Jean Victor de Constant Rebecque (22 September 1773 – 12 June 1850) was a Swiss mercenary who distinguished himself in Dutch service. As chief-of-staff of the Netherlands Mobile Army he countermanded the order of the Duke of Wellington to ev ...

. The family have, since its move to Switzerland, branched out and

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

in other European countries, such as Sweden Constant de Flon/Adlercrona, Norway, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and possibly

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Through its many branches, the house has belonged to the

Dutch nobility The Dutch nobility is a small elite social class constisting of individuals or families recognized as noble, and with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The existence of nobility was established in the Constituti ...

, as well as the Swedish and the peerage of Ireland. The house originates from the region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Members of the house of Constant took part in all the crusades as well as the Huguenot Wars before leaving France. Members of the family hold the dutch title of baron and the customary styling of French marquis

Members

Benjamin Constant Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a Franco-Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion. A committed republican from 1795, he backed t ...

* David-Louis Constant de Rebecque *

Jean d'Estournelles de Constant Louis Etienne Jean Léonce Balluet d'Estournelles de Constant de Rebecque (15 September 1859 – 31 July 1949) was a sailor from France, who represented his country at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Meulan, France France (), officiall ...

Paul-Henri-Benjamin d'Estournelles de Constant Paul Henri Benjamin Balluet d'Estournelles de Constant, Baron de Constant de Rebecque (22 November 1852 – 15 May 1924), was a French diplomat and politician, advocate of international arbitration and winner of the 1909 Nobel Prize for Peace ...

Claimed titles

* Marquis de Rebecque * Baron de Constant :nl:De Constant Rebecque * Baron de Clarcque * Swedish noble * Lord of Hermenches * Lord of Villars * Lord of Flon * Lord of Mendras

References

Dutch nobility French nobility Swiss nobility Swedish nobility {{Nobility-stub

Members

Claimed titles

See also

References